In the field of aeronautical construction, increasing use is being made of composite materials such as, for example, carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP), notably to produce the fuselage.
Although the use of such materials allows for a weight saving, the fact that these materials are not electrically conductive dictates the need to provide a network of metallization strips to ensure the electrical ground return for the electrical network.
These metallization strips each take the form of a longilinear element with a small thickness made of an electrically conductive material.
These metallization strips are interconnected so as to produce an electrical network of conductive elements.
Thus, a network comprises a multitude of metallization strips connected at their ends and a multitude of connections at which at least two metallization strips are connected.
Hereinafter in the description ‘a simple connection’ will be understood to be a connection at which only two metallization strips are linked together and a ‘node’ will be understood to be a connection at which at least three metallization strips are connected together. A section of the network corresponds to the metallization strips connected in series between two nodes.
To ensure optimal operation of the ground return, all the metallization strips have to be at the same potential and be correctly connected together electrically.
When checking a network of great length, if a potential difference appears between two distant points of the network, it is necessary, using an ohmmeter for example, to test the electrical continuity of each section, and then, when the defective section is discovered, to check the conductivity of each metallization strip and of each simple connection of the section in order to identify the defective metallization strip(s) and/or simple connection(s).
Given all of these checks, locating an electrical continuity fault in a network of metallization strips proves to be a very tedious task.